


Mad Enhancement

by foxysquid



Category: Fate/Zero, Fate/stay night & Related Fandoms
Genre: Gen, Master & Servant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-10-16
Updated: 2012-10-16
Packaged: 2017-11-16 11:08:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 824
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/538784
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/foxysquid/pseuds/foxysquid
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kariya and his Servant face each other in the darkness, and Kariya faces the fact that they may be more similar than they seem.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Mad Enhancement

"Berserker. Berserker." Kariya's voice is quiet, almost sing-song as he calls out in the darkness. He doesn't need to use his voice to summon him, but he does anyway. It seems more polite, more normal, to speak to his Servant, even considering the not-at-all-normal circumstances. Even though there's no need to be polite. All he has to do is summon his Servant to fight for him. It's a strange feeling, having an entity so powerful at his command, a relentless, destructive force. After so many years of avoiding magecraft, he's been thrust into a surge of it, by his own choice. Almost everything in his life, now, is everything he'd once struggled to escape from.

He sees the Servant before there's any audible response. The light that glows from Berserker's helmet and the seams in his armor is a brilliant red, highly visible in the dark. Kariya approaches slowly. The Hero is huge. He could easily crush Kariya if he wished, if not for the contract binding them and protecting Master from Servant. "Berserker." Kariya's own voice sounds strange to him. His throat is ruined, along with the rest of him. It's the same voice at heart, but impossibly ravaged. Like himself.

The Servant makes a noise, then, a low exhalation of breath with something of his own voice in it, not unlike a groan. Kariya feels drawn to the sound. Something about it is compelling. There's a pained edge to it that resonates within him.

"I'm Kariya," he says, trying his best to make the words understandable. Berserker has already accepted him as a Master, and they were "introduced" in Zouken's presence, but Zouken isn't here now. It's only the two of them, in the dark. The air is damp. There's a sharp scent, of both earth and metal, overlaid with what he can smell of his own body, his blood and sweat. "We're going to win the war. I know we will." His right eye lights with determination, though his left is dull and colorless.

He can feel Berserker watching him as Berserker lets out another breath. It's strange, to feel watched when he can't see any eyes, only that red glow. Berserker doesn't offer his name or opinion. He doesn't say anything. Kariya knows why. He's mad. Kariya goes on, speaking into the silence. "I promised to get the Grail for my uncle. When I do, he's going to let Sakura go." He doesn't bother to explain who Sakura is. "She'll go home. She'll be happy again. That's all I want. I don't care about anything else."

Berserker doesn't speak, but Kariya imagines he might be listening, though there's no way to tell whether he understands. The mere idea that someone might be listening encourages him, and he goes on. "We're going to save Sakura and kill Tokiomi." He's already contradicting himself. Sakura's happiness isn't the only thing he cares about. He has his hatred, too. It warms him unpleasantly, puts a quaver in his voice as he stares into the angry red light from Berserker's visor. What's underneath it? He doesn't dare to reach out and lift it. "It's Tokiomi's fault this happened. I want him to die. That's what we're going to do first. He's our enemy, because he brought Sakura here."

Because Sakura came here, Kariya did, too. He used to travel. He used to go places, to meet people. He used to have a life of his own. A small life, a frayed life, but it was his, a scrap of existence he'd pulled away from his family, saved for himself. Now, in the darkness, this mad Servant is the only companion he has. "You'll follow my orders, and when we're done, everything will be fine! Everything will be all right again." He's lying, and he knows it. He's lying, but he wants to believe his own lies.

Berserker lets out a hiss. Will he ever speak? Kariya remembers the words Zouken had given him to say: "chains of madness." With his heart racing, his body aching, he can understand what that's like. This is his Servant. He is the Master. They're tied together, and they'll be together until one or both of them are dead. Kariya's hands shake. The pain shoots down his left side, and he wants to laugh, but he only coughs. 

Zouken bound them both, didn't he? They're both in chains. Kariya sags. He stumbles, and without him being aware of any movement, Berserker must have reached out his arm, because suddenly it's there, holding him up. There's no care or concern in it, only an armored limb stretched out, but it's enough. He doesn't fall. He doesn't fall, but something inside him breaks. He leans against the arm, lets it bear his weight.

"I'm sorry," he breathes. The words are a whisper, and with the wreck of his throat, it's possible that they can't be understood, that they're just another meaningless sound.


End file.
